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Kimbal Musk’s new Memphis eatery will offer healthy meals on the go for $5

Regular readers of Inhabitat know of our continued intrigue with Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, but we haven’t reported as much on his youngest brother Kimbal Musk. The younger Musk brother is a busy man, sitting on the boards of Tesla, SpaceX and Chipotle Mexican Grill – and his own venture, The Kitchen Community, is a nonprofit that puts educational gardens in schools and other community spaces. Now, Kimbal Musk is launching a healthy “grab-and-go” café called The Kitchenette, which will offer healthy meals for just $5.

The flagship location of The Kitchenette is planned for Memphis, Tennessee and is expected to open this August. In fact, they are already hiring. The location will be unique, situated inside the visitor center of Shelby Farms Park, a sprawling urban park and nature conservancy which has more than one million visitors each year. At Musk’s café, healthy food will take the spotlight, including $5 meals on-the-go. The menu will consist mostly of sandwiches, soups, and salads. Musk and his cofounder and chef Hugo Matheson have aspirations to expand the concept to other cities, but no solid plans are in place yet.

Healthy fast food joints seem to be the latest trend in the food service industry, but many existing options aren’t exactly budget friendly and lunch for one can easily cost $15-20. In order to provide true competition to common fast food restaurants, like McDonald’s, Musk knew he had to keep the prices down. To that end, no single item on the menu at The Kitchenette will be priced over $10. Musk told Tech Insider that he’ll keep prices down by partnering with local farmers, which seems like a smart move, both for diners and for the local economy.

The only downside we can see is that The Kitchenette won’t have a drive-thru window.